Bye Bye Birdie
Bye Bye Birdie is a stage musical with a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. Originally titled Let's Go Steady, Bye Bye Birdie is set in 1958. The story was inspired by the phenomenon of popular singer Elvis Presley and his draft notice into the Army in 1957. The rock star character's name, "Conrad Birdie", is word play on the name of Conway Twitty. Twitty is best remembered today for his long career as a country music star, but in the late 1950s, he was one of Presley's rock 'n' roll rivals. The original 1960–1961 Broadway production was a Tony Award–winning success. It spawned a London production and several major revivals, a sequel, a 1963 film, and a 1995 television production. The show also became a popular choice for high school and college productions. About it ACT ONE: New York–based songwriter Albert Peterson’s music publishing firm, Almaelou, is broke. Albert finds himself in trouble when his client, hip-thrusting rock and roll superstar and teen idol singer, Conrad Birdie, is drafted into the army, leaving his heavily indebted firm in jeopardy. Albert begs a General not to take his one hope into the army, not until he sings a song Albert has composed for the man. Albert's secretary, and love of his life, Rosie Alvarez, is quitting because he won’t marry Rosie while his mother, Mae, so disapproves of anyone and everyone. Albert insists that a change like his getting married could kill his mother, and Rosie points out that a silver bullet couldn’t kill her. Having long been stuck in a sort of romantic limbo for eight years, Rosie longs for the Albert she once knew, before he wrote Conrad's first hit and abandoned those plans to pursue the seedier music industry, begs him to keep his promise, marry her, and become an aspiring English teacher, rather than a failed songwriter. ("An English Teacher"). He agrees to do so as soon as the company is in the red, and she agrees. To that end, Rosie has a plan, she comes up with a last-ditch publicity stunt to have Conrad record and perform a song before he is sent overseas. Rosie's plan is to have Conrad sing "One Last Kiss", a song she assigns Albert to write on the spot, and give one lucky girl, chosen randomly from his fan club, a real "last kiss" as an event that will be televised on The Ed Sullivan Show before he rides off into the sunset and is going into the army for two years. The song will become a huge hit, then Albert will marry Rosie, and go back to college for his teaching degree. She places a phone call to 15-year-old Kim MacAfee, President of the Conrad Birdie Fan Club, in Sweet Apple, Ohio. In Sweet Apple, the line is busy because Kim is having a lengthy phone conversation with her best friend, Ursula Merkle, telling her that Hugo Peabody has pinned Kim, so they are a couple. She quits the Conrad Birdie fan club over the phone because of the new milestone happening in her life, and Ursula is shocked. And all the teenagers are catching in on the latest gossip about Kim and Hugo's relationship, and the gossip is running fast and furious. (“The Telephone Hour”). Kim dwells on her “adult” life, and reflects on how happy she is with her maturity, believing at 15 she has fully reached adulthood ("How Lovely To Be A Woman"). Kim reconsiders after ahe gets the call from Rosie, telling her she has been chosen to be Conrad's last kiss before going into the armed forces, and suddenly she’s a screaming and gibbering teenager. Fan club girls practice “We Love You, Conrad”, their club song, waiting for Conrad. They all hurry to the train to watch Conrad off, except Albert, waiting for his mother, Mae. Mae arrives, and she is the mother from hell. She will sacrifice everything, her last breath, to her son…to instill him with a crushing guilt. Albert tells his mother he’s going to marry Rose, and she gives him some final advice before she walks home 107 blocks, and dies. He ends up not even telling her. Meanwhile, Conrad, Albert, and Rosie prepare to go to Sweet Apple. A crowd of teen-aged girls sees them off at the New York City train station, although one girl is very sad because she thinks that by the time Conrad gets out of the army, she will be too old for him, and there will be none of that. Albert encourages and advises her to be optimistic ("Put On A Happy Face"). Conrad makes his appearance, the crowds go wild. Soon, tabloid reporters arrive with questions about the seedy details of Conrad's personal life, but Rosie, Albert, and the girls answer for him, hoping to protect his reputation and bankability. (“A Fine, Upstanding, Patriotic, Healthy, Normal American Boy”). They all hurry to the train to watch Conrad off, except Albert, waiting for his mother, Mae. Mae arrives, and she will sacrifice everything, her last breath, to her son…to instill him with a crushing guilt. Albert tells his mother he’s going to marry Rosie, and she gives him some final advice before she walks home. He ends up not even telling her. The train takes off for Sweet Apple. Arriving in Sweet Apple, fan clubs again sing the beloved hymn to Conrad. But the boys in town hate Conrad, and led by Hugo, sing of their hate for him. Hugo worries that Kim likes Conrad more than she likes him, confronts Kim and lets her know she should not go around kissing other men after getting pinned to him, but Kim assures Hugo that he is the only one she loves ("One Boy"). Then, Conrad arrives and receives a hero's welcome in Sweet Apple. Conrad shocks the town's parents and drives the teenage girls crazy with his performance of singing one song, “Honestly Sincere”, and all the women in town, including Edna, the mayor's wife, to lose their minds and faint. The girls have promised to sing the Birdie song 10,000 times, and they’re only past 5,000. Kim's father, Harry, a bit of a curmudgeon and prototype middle-class dad, is trying to live a normal life, but that has become impossible. Conrad becomes a guest in the MacAfee house and irritates Harry by being rude and selfish. He walks in, says “call me for lunch”, and heads up to his room. Harry does not want Kim to kiss Conrad, until Albert makes a deal with him and tells him their whole family will be will be allowed to make an appearance when Conrad sings his song and kisses Kim on the biggest TV show of its time: The Ed Sullivan Show. Kim, Harry, Kim's mother, Doris, and younger brother, Randolph sing a song dedicated to Ed Sullivan's praises ("Hymn For A Sunday Evening"). Backstage at The Ed Sullivan Show, Albert tells Rosie he wrote his mama and told her he’s quitting the music business. Mae comes to Sweet Apple to break up her son's relationship with Rosie, since she objects to Rosie's Hispanic heritage, and suggests that since Albert is dissolving the company named for her and her long-dead husband, Lou, Albert should also dissolve his mother. She can see her son is upset, and introduces Albert to Gloria Rasputin, a curvy and gorgeous blonde bombshell she met on the bus who could replace Rosie as his secretary. Gloria is a tap dancer, and she secretly hopes that a connection with Albert could be her way into show business. Mae sings "Swanee River" as Gloria tap-dances by her making a fool of herself. Albert “interviews” Gloria and gives her a typing job. Rosie is furious and fantasizes about violent ways to murder Albert ("One Hundred Ways Ballet"), but instead comes up with a better idea: she convinces Hugo to sabotage the last kiss. Since both Rosie and Hugo are jealous and angry, they plot to ruin Conrad's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. On stage, Ed Sullivan introduces Conrad, who sings “One Last Kiss”, and leans in to plant one on Kim. But Hugo ruins it all, as he runs onstage and punches Conrad in the face, knocking Conrad unconscious on international TV. Albert wants to know who let Hugo in, and Rosie proudly tells him she did, and she’s leaving. Albert begs her not to leave him alone, and she points out that right now, they’re not alone – they’re on TV. Rosie dumps Albert, and Albert, trying to cover for the mishaps of the evening, leads a chorus of “A Fine, Upstanding, Patriotic, Healthy, Normal American Boy”. ACT TWO: Despite plans to re-film the broadcast, Rosie and Kim decide that men are worthless and resolve to leave Albert and Hugo, lamenting their stupidity for having fallen in love ("What Did I Ever See In Him?"). Albert, and unfortunately Mae, take care of Conrad, who wants to be left alone. Rosie enters the MacAfee house, and for a moment, Albert tries to be a real man, but he collapses as she departs and begs her to come back. So he lets it be known to the others he forcefully fired her, although he didn’t, even as Kim tries to run away with Rosie. Kim is going to dye her hair, but her father lets her know it’s not her hair until she’s 21, and sends her to her room. Desperate, Albert starts after Rosie, but he’s stopped by his mother with a message from Conrad – he’s going out, and probably won’t make it back on time to kiss Kim. Conrad, with no visible effects from being knocked out, decides he wants to go out and have a good time on his last night as a civilian, and encourages the Sweet Apple teens to party ("A Lot Of Livin' To Do"). Kim plans joining him out on the town, so she sneaks out of her house and joins her friends. Conrad, Kim, and all the teenagers, except Hugo, head for the Ice House, "where people go when they want to be alone." to party, which Conrad knows how to do. Hugo goes to Maude's Roadside Retreat, a local bar, and tries to get drunk, but grumpy proprietor Charles F. Maude sees that he's underage and refuses to serve him. Hugo shows up at the house and asks Harry where Kim is. Harry doesn’t know – she went out with Conrad. Albert rushes in, asks Harry where Conrad is. When Harry discovers Kim has run away, he lets Albert know he plans to shoot Conrad, and then Harry and Doris lament and bemoan the undisciplined and unruly condition of how disobedient kids are these days ("Kids"). Rosie ends up at Maude's Roadside Retreat and starts flirting with other men, but Albert phones her and sings with other guys at the bar, as he begs her to return to him ("Baby, Talk To Me"), but she’s had it with him. She sees a bunch of men in fezzes, and decides it’s time she got a new man. She interrupts their meeting in Maude's private dining room and flirts with all the Shriners, and she begins a wild and seductive dance for them (Shriner’s Ballet) and they go mad. Rosie barely escapes with her life, thanks to Hugo and Albert, who rescue her from the crazed Shriners. Albert finally stands up to his mother, telling her to go home. Mae leaves, but not before lamenting the sacrifices she made for him ("A Mother Doesn't Matter Anymore"). Hugo tells the MacAfees and the other parents that the teenagers have gone to the Ice House, and they all declare that they don't know what's wrong with their kids. (“Kids” reprise.) Randolph joins in, stating that his older sister and the other teens are "so ridiculous and so immature". Albert comes through, looking for Rosie, followed by his nagging mother. Harry finds Albert, and lets him know Conrad has run off with his daughter. It’s a nightmare. The adults and the police arrive at the Ice House and arrest Conrad for attempted statutory rape. Kim, who unconvincingly claimed to be in her late 20s to Conrad, claims she was intimidated and gladly returns to Hugo. It’s then Conrad rushes desperately on and begs Albert to protect him from the fans, the kids he’s gotten so riled up they’re beyond sanity. A police officer offers to arrest Conrad, and he gratefully complies. After a reconciliation with Albert, Rosie lets Mae know that she’s had it with the woman, and tells Mae that she will marry Albert despite Mae's racist objections. Despite being a natural-born American citizen from Allentown, Pennsylvania, she will deliberately play up her Hispanic heritage if it annoys Mae that much ("Spanish Rose"). Albert tells Mae to go home, and in her manner, she treats it like a death sentence, insisting he wrap her up and toss her in the river. He doesn’t care. Albert bails Conrad out of jail and arranges for him to sneak out of town dressed as a middle-aged woman, presumably so he can report for army induction as scheduled; in turn, Conrad offers Albert a lifetime contract for bailing him out. Albert gets Mae to leave Sweet Apple on the same train, getting Conrad and his mother out of his life for good. Albert tells Rosie they're not going back to New York; as they then board another train to Pumpkin Falls, Iowa, a small town where an English teacher’s job has opened, though they want the teacher to be married. Albert professes that everything is rosy with Rosie ("Rosie"), and they go off together happily engaged. Song list Act I "An English Teacher" – Rosie "The Telephone Hour" – Teenagers "How Lovely to Be a Woman" – Kim "We Love You, Conrad!" – Orchestra/Teen Trio "Put on a Happy Face" – Albert "A Fine, Upstanding, Patriotic, Healthy, Normal American Boy" – Albert, Rosie, Reporters, Ensemble "One Boy" – Kim, Deborah Sue, Alice "One Boy" (Reprise) – Rosie "Honestly Sincere" – Conrad & Company "Wounded" – Ursula, Deborah Sue, and Margie "Hymn For A Sunday Evening" – The MacAfee Family & Company "How To Kill A Man" (Ballet) – Rosie, Albert, & Company "One Last Kiss" – Conrad & Company "A Fine, Upstanding, Patriotic, Healthy, Normal American Boy" (Reprise) – Albert & Company Act II "What Did I Ever See In Him?" – Rosie & Kim "What Did I Ever See In Him?" (Reprise) – Rosie "A Lot Of Livin' To Do" – Conrad, Kim, & Teenagers "Kids" – Mr. & Mrs. MacAfee "Baby, Talk To Me" – Albert & Bar Patrons "Shriner's Ballet" (Dance) – Rosie & Shriners "A Mother Doesn't Matter Anymore."- Mrs. Mae Peterson "Kids" (Reprise) – Randolph, Mr. MacAfee, Mrs. Macafee, and Company "A Lot Of Livin' To Do" (Reprise) - Teenagers "Spanish Rose" - Rosie "Rosie" – Albert & Rosie Cast of characters 1960 Broadway cast Dick Van Dyke as Albert Peterson Chita Rivera as Rosie Alvarez Susan Watson as Kim MacAfee Dick Gautier as Conrad Birdie Johnny Borden as Randolph MacAfee Paul Lynde as Harry MacAfee Marijane Maricle as Doris MacAfee Kay Medford as Mae Peterson Michael J. Pollard as Hugo Peabody Barbara Doherty as Ursula Merkle Gary Giocomo as Harvey Johnson Norma Richardson as Gloria Rasputin 1961 London cast Peter Marshall as Albert Peterson Chita Rivera as Rosie Alvarez Sylvia Tysick as Kim MacAfee Marty Wilde as Conrad Birdie Kenneth Nash as Randolph MacAfee Robert Nichols as Harry MacAfee Mary Laura Wood as Doris MacAfee Angela Baddeley as Mae Peterson Clive Endersby as Hugo Peabody Elaine Millar as Ursula Merkle Christine Child as Gloria Rasputin 1990 U.S. tour cast Tommy Tune as Albert Peterson Ann Reinking as Rosie Alvarez Susan Egan as Kim MacAfee Marc Kudisch as Conrad Birdie Joey Hannon as Randolph MacAfee Dale O’Brien as Harry MacAfee Belle Calaway as Doris MacAfee and Gloria Rasputin Marilyn Cooper as Mae Peterson Steve Zahn as Hugo Peabody Jessica Stone as Ursula Merkle 2004 Encores! cast Daniel Jenkins as Albert Peterson Karen Ziemba as Rosie Alvarez Jessica Grové as Kim MacAfee William Robert Gaynor as Conrad Birdie William Ulrich as Randolph MacAfee Walter Bobbie as Harry MacAfee Victoria Clark as Doris MacAfee Doris Roberts as Mae Peterson Keith Nobbs as Hugo Peabody 2008 Kennedy Center cast Brooks Ashmanskas as Albert Peterson Leslie Kritzer as Rosie Alvarez Laura Osnes as Kim MacAfee James Snyder as Conrad Birdie Ned Eisenberg as Harry MacAfee Lisa Brescia as Doris MacAfee Randi Graff as Mae Peterson Bobby Steggert as Hugo Peabody 2009 Broadway revival cast John Stamos as Albert Peterson Gina Gershon as Rosie Alvarez Allie Trimm as Kim MacAfee Nolan Gerard Funk as Conrad Birdie Jake Evan Schwencke as Randolph MacAfee Bill Irwin as Harry MacAfee Dee Hoty as Doris MacAfee Jayne Houdyshell as Mae Peterson Matt Doyle as Hugo Peabody Brynn Williams as Ursula Merkle Paula Leggett Chase as Gloria Rasputin Trivia One reviewer on the message board section of the Broadway World website said that in the 2009 revival of the show, the MacAfee's home set looked straight out of IKEA. One reviewer on "The Right Musical" website, who played Albert Peterson in his high school's production, says that "The Telephone Hour" is one of the most fun theatrical numbers ever. Category:Stage shows